'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Shohei Ohtani has been in the media spotlight this offseason, as his $700 million free-agency signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers was the talk of not just the town but the wider world.
With every aspect of the Japanese superstar's life under the microscope, Ohtani, a very private person, has conducted his business in the offseason with his usual dignity and grace.
It came as a big surprise when Ohtani announced his marriage on the last day of February. The lack of information about his wife in his Instagram post raised a lot of questions.
Ohtani has since revealed more information about his wife, who we now know is Mamiko Tanaka, so let's learn a bit more about her.
Trending
More about Shohei Ohtani's wife, Mamiko Tanaka
On Thursday, the LA Dodgers arrived in South Korea ahead of the Seoul Series. Shohei Ohtani posted a photo to his Instagram stories, which featured him and teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as well as Mamiko Tanaka, standing next to him. He captioned the post:
“Can’t wait!”
The Dodgers' X account followed up with a post featuring snaps of Ohtani and Tanaka, as well as Mookie Betts and his wife, Brianna Hammonds. The photo of Ohtani and Tanaka featured text calling Tanaka "his wife.”
Mamiko Tanaka, born Dec. 11, 1996, is 27 and is a former basketball player. She played for the Fujitsu Red Wave in the Women’s Japan Basketball League between 2019 and 2023.
Standing five-foot-11, Tanaka played as a forward, and according to ESPN, had a shooting rate of 47.7% from the field and 69.9% from the free-throw line across 28 games in 2023.
Tanaka represented Japan in the U16 and U18 Asia Championships, as well as at the U17 World Championship between 2011 and 2014. Interestingly, Tanaka was eligible for the WNBA after she left Tokyo's Waseeda University in 2018, but she instead decided to play in Japan.
With the mystery over the identity of Shohei Ohtani's wife now solved, we will likely learn more about Mamiko Tanaka in due course. It will be interesting to see if more is forthcoming as the couple spends time in South Korea while the Dodgers prepare for the Seoul Series.
